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WINNIPEG – Mosquito counts in Winnipeg could rise dramatically after the city received 70 millimetres of rain over the weekend.

Ken Nawolsky, superintendent of insect control for the City of Winnipeg, said Tuesday the average mosquito trap count in Winnipeg was nine. In a week that number is expected to rise, as conditions for eggs to hatch improve.

“The eggs that have laid dormant for the last three to five years have hatched in the water because of the significant amount of rainfall,” Nawolsky said.

Getting rid of standing water in your yard will help limit the number of mosquitoes that pester the city next week, he said.

There are no plans to fog yet. Trap counts have to reach 100 and there needs to be at least two days in a row over 25 C before the city fogs with malathion. For now, larvaciding efforts continue.

At a news conference Tuesday, Nawolsky showed off a sample of water in a small container taken from a yard in Charleswood. It was full of mosquito larvae he said would produce 200 mosquitoes if allowed to hatch.